Biological Distance Analysis, Cranial Morphoscopic Traits, and Ancestry Assessment in Forensic Anthropology

Forensic anthropology and morphoscopic traits are only rarely considered in the biological distance analysis literature. When they are employed, their treatment is often theoretical (and population-based) so these studies are of little use to practicing forensic anthropologists. This oversight may speak directly to the rare incorporation of biodistance measures in the analysis of morphoscopic trait data. To fill that knowledge gap several canonical analysis of principal coordinates are conducted in three- and four-group analyses to explore the validity of a population-level focus and to determine the legitimacy of the reference data generally employed in forensic analyses. The results of CAP analyses indicate morphoscopic data are useful for classification and that these traits are also useful also for exploring relatedness and biodistance.

(Publisher abstract provided.)